Right Here By Your Side
by AngelicInkLing
Summary: He fell in love with her the moment he first laid eyes on her. And from that point on, he has loved her completely. The problem is, she's older than him and she's married. Fate however has something else in mind. A promise given is a promise to be kept. AU-ish MelindaxNed


**Disclaimer:**

I **DO NOT** own anything related to the **Ghost Whisperer franchise **in this story. I own nothing except for the plot itself and any OC that will be presented.

**Right Here By Your Side**

**…**

It all started with a mistake, a mistake they never thought would change their lives forever. Ned was just a kid back then when he shoplifted from Melinda's Antique store and from that point on he has never left her side.

A couple of months of working at the store to pay for the ticket that he took were supposed to be his punishment but the whole time he was there, it was nothing short of heaven for him. He would arrive at the store after his classes and as soon as he got settled in, he would help out with anything that she needed. He did everything that she needed of him and he did all of it without complain.

Call it puppy love but Ned had it bad for Melinda.

"Where do you want these?" Ned asked as he lifted the box he was holding to give her a better view.

"Hmm, that should go to the basement for now." Melinda replied from behind the counter.

Ned simply nodded in at her before heading off for the basement with the box in both hands. Unknown to him, Melinda was watching him as he followed her orders. She was amazed at how much he had changed from the trouble maker that he was before. When they first met he was so much trouble whereas now he was so mature and was even a big help with the store.

"Can I just put this down anywhere?" Ned shouted from the basement.

"Put it down on the table please." Melinda answered.

After a couple of seconds the young man re-emerged from the basement and then headed back to the front door. He picked up the last box and then walked back towards the basement. Halfway through, he stopped and asked Melinda if she wanted the second box to be placed on the table too.

"Please and thank you." Melinda replied with a smile.

Ned could feel his face heat up as all the blood in him rose up to his face. When he first experienced it, he didn't know what it was but the more time he spent with her inside her shop the more he understood what he felt. Shyly he lowered his gaze and then quickly moved pass her.

Melinda couldn't help but smile because of his reaction. True he was still a kid but she enjoyed the attention he was giving her. It made her feel desirable even though she was already married and had a huge baggage called "Ghosts".

She was still lost in this thought when she heard a loud crash coming from the basement. This ended her trail of thought and brought her attention to what she heard downstairs. Quickly she ran down and checked what had happened.

"Ouch." Ned muttered while he rubbing his head.

"Are you okay?" Melinda asked as she knelt down beside him.

She quickly checked for any injuries that he could have gotten when he fell but lucky for Ned, all he got were a couple of bruises and some scratches. If it had been any worse, Delia would definitely be crossed. Even though it was an accident, Melinda knew that Ned was her responsibility and what had happened was her fault.

"You're lucky it's just a couple of bruises and scratches." Melinda told Ned as she leaned over him to wipe the dirt off his face.

Melinda was so absorbed with what she was doing that she failed to notice her dress showing more cleavage than what it was designed to. This however didn't escape Ned as he was so dazed by the two round mounts in front of him. He continued to ogle at them until he heard her call his attention.

"Hey, up here," Melinda said as she guided his gaze from her chest back to her face.

"Sorry." Ned apologized before he shyly averted his gaze.

"I'll let it slide this once but make sure you don't do that to other girls." Melinda told him while offering him her hand. Ned reached for the offered hand and used it to help himself get up. As soon as he was standing up, he dusted himself and quickly turned to pick up the things that scattered because of his fall.

"Wait, are you okay now? Do you want to rest?" Melinda asked while holding onto his shirt.

"I'm okay, really." Ned answered before loosening her grip of his shirt.

Melinda watched as he picked up the scattered items on the floor while pondering if she should have just kept quiet about him looking at her chest. There was an awkward silence afterwards and neither of them seemed to know how to break it. Ned finished picking up all of the items and then afterwards, quietly left the basement and then headed back to the first floor.

"Melinda." A female voice called from the first floor.

She hurriedly went back up and saw that Delia had already arrived to pick up Ned. They had a short talk about the accident that had just happened and she explained that she was willing to take care of any expenses for Ned's medication. Delia was about to take her up on her offer when Ned butted in and insisted that he was okay. That was the last of it before Ned quickly pulled Delia out of the shop.

The next meetings after that was as awkward as the first but they were able to get through it. Ned was able to finish the time he needed to work off in payment for what he did and then after that, he rarely visited the shop. This somehow caused a pang of hurt inside Melinda though she wasn't sure as to why she felt the way she did.

**…**

The next time they met was during her husband's wake. She was so shook up by what had happened that she wasn't able to take care of anything. Luckily for her, she had a lot of friends who volunteered to help with everything that was needed and one of these said friends was Delia, the one who took care of all of the preparation inside the house.

Ned did his share and helped with the preparations and during the wake itself, assisted with ushering the guests. A lot of people came to pay their respects, some from her husband's work while some were her clients and the rest were their friends. Melinda was touched by their presence and thankful that they came but she couldn't bring herself to face them. The only thing that she could do during the whole ordeal was to lock herself inside their room. It was too much to bear the death of her husband but to have to face everyone that reminded her of him was something she couldn't do.

She would cry herself to sleep while she waited for the day to pass and would only go out of her room if she felt that there were no more visitors down stairs. This became a routine for her until the last day of the wake. She couldn't escape from reality any longer because she would need to give her last words before her husband is buried.

She was still mentally debating about if she would go down or not when a knock was heard from the door.

"Melinda, they're asking if you're ready to go down now." Ned told her from the other side of the bedroom's door.

"I'll be down in a minute." She replied but the will to move wasn't there.

Melinda waited for the sound of Ned's footsteps as he walked back down to the first floor but it never came. Curious, she walked towards the door of the bedroom and then listened if Ned was still there. She couldn't hear anything but she was sure that Ned was still on the other side.

"Are you still there?" Melinda asked.

"Yes." Ned answered weakly.

"I told you I'm going down in a minute." She told him, making herself sound a bit irritated.

"I know, but I want to wait here for you. So in case if you need me, I'm just here." Ned replied.

Melinda felt all of her energy left her, making her legs give way. This caused her to fall on her butt creating a loud thud that could be heard by the person on the other side of the door. She heard Ned turn the door knob but he didn't push the door open. It was as if he was waiting for her to tell him that it was okay to enter.

After a couple of seconds of silence, Melinda told Ned to come inside. The sight of her on the floor caused him to panic and quickly move towards her side. There weren't any injuries on her body but Ned continued to check and ask her if she was feeling any pain.

"I'm okay." Melinda told him with a smile.

Ned wanted to believe what she had told him but her eyes betrayed her. There was a smile on her face but here eyes were teary. He wanted to take away all of her sorrows so badly but there were only a few things a kid could do. Unconsciously, his body reacted and reached for her with both arms. This surprised Melinda but the next thing that he did surprised her even more.

His soft innocent lips touched hers, the contact making them lose themselves in the bliss of the moment. There was no right or wrong at that instance, all that there was, were two people sharing that special kiss. No one else mattered, except the person in front of them.

When they broke apart, Ned hugged her tight and whispered.

"I'll always be right here by your side."

This few words caused the emotional dam inside Melinda to burst open. Tears started to roll down her cheeks while quiet sobs escaped her lips. She knew that what had happened was wrong but she couldn't do anything else, except to answer back the hug that he gave her.

**…**

** Author's Note:**

My first fic for Ghost Whisperer, created due to this week's series-a-thon (Is that even a word?).. I hope you liked this first chapter.. Yes, there will be a couple more chapters after this because I want to show the love between the two when Ned is all grown up (or of legal age).. Please read and review.. ^^


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